


Without You

by magicgamble



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, M/M, klance, the fluffiest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 12:15:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14934096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicgamble/pseuds/magicgamble
Summary: Lance, concerned about Shiro, turns to the only person who will believe him.





	Without You

**Author's Note:**

> I know season 6 drops literally tonight but I've been thinking about this idea for a while and wanted to get it out there before we all die

Lance didn't often feel uncomfortable. He was usually able to crack a few jokes, smile a little, and make any situation bearable. In this case, however, he didn't feel up to it. Everything that had happened with Shiro-- or  __ _not quite_ Shiro--as he was starting to think of him, had left him on edge and anxious.

"Just this way," Kolivan said as they turned the corner. The hallway looked exactly like all the others. Lance guessed the Blade of Marmora was too busy being space ninjas to worry about interior decorating. 

"He's in here?" Lance asked, jabbing a thumb at the door on the left. 

Kolivan nodded, then left without another word. 

"Well, okay then," Lance mumbled, taking a deep breath. He stared at the door for a minute, trying to collect his thoughts. It had been a while since they'd seen each other, and it was difficult to bring himself to knock. Would Keith be annoyed that he'd shown up here? Would he send him away? 

Lance steeled himself. Keith cared too much about Shiro to dismiss what he had to say. He knocked, and Keith was there in an instant, eyebrows set low, jaw clenched. He was also shirtless-- something Lance took special note of-- but he still seemed to be ready for _anything_ but the former blue paladin. 

"Lance?!" 

"Oh, hey man," Lance said, watching Keith's chest rise and fall with his breathing. 

"What are you doing here?" Keith looked up and down the hallway, as if worried that Lance had somehow snuck in. 

"Relax, Kolivan let me in. Everything's cool." 

"Everything's cool," Keith repeated. "And you're here, alone, just to what? Chat?" 

Lance forced himself to ignore the pitfall in his chest. He and Keith had come a long way since driving their lions into the ground in a stupid game of chicken, and a part of Lance had dared to hope that Keith would be excited to see him. 

"Yeah, okay, there is something wrong," Lance admitted, "and you were the only person I could go to." 

Keith blinked, then opened the door wider. "You should probably come in." 

Lance stepped inside, taking a look around Keith's room. It was just as bare as it had been in the castle. His old clothes-- the red jacket and those dorky boots-- had been set neatly in the corner. 

"I like what you've done with the place," Lance remarked. 

"Lance, focus," Keith sighed. "What's wrong?" 

"Right, well... it's Shiro." 

Keith immediately tensed, and he took a step closer, uncrossing his arms. "What happened? Is he okay?" 

"Calm down, he's... well, I don't know how to say this. Everyone else shot me down pretty fast." 

Keith continued to stare, waiting. 

"It's just that I'm not really sure Shiro  _is_ Shiro." 

Keith's head cocked, making his hair flop down over his eyes. "What do you mean?" 

"I mean," Lance explained, "that I think something happened to him while he was gone. He came back _different_." 

"Well, yeah. Anyone would, after what he went throu--" 

"You're not listening!" Lance snapped, already anticipating the same rebuttals he'd gotten from the rest of the team. "I think someone did something to change him! I think he's been altered and I don't know what to do." 

Keith held out his hands, looking much calmer than expected. "I am listening, alright? You wouldn't have come all this way if it wasn't important. Just... tell me again. Shiro is  _different_? In a way we should be concerned about?"

"Yes," Lance sighed. 

"Different how?" 

Confidence bolstered by Keith's reaction, Lance continued, explaining the incident in the Voltron mind-space, the way Shiro seemed so irritable now, and the way he dismissed the other when he never used to. Keith was quiet, listening carefully until Lance was done.

"That is weird," he admitted. 

"Yeah, _really_ weird. I just-- I know something is wrong, and you're the only one who I think could help." 

"What do you want me to do?" Keith asked, running a hand through his hair. "I don't even know what all this means." 

"Neither do I, but you know him best. At the very least you could come back and see for yourself. Let me know if I'm going crazy. 

It was amazing, the effect sharing everything with Keith had on Lance. He felt lighter, more assured than he had before, like nothing bad could happen now. He knew that was stupid, even as he thought it, but he was willing to allow himself this few moments' peace.

Keith shifted on his feet. "I don't know, Lance. I belong with the Blade now. I can't just pick up and leave." 

"Don't you care about Shiro?"

Keith's eyes flashed, and Lance knew he'd gone too far. "Of course I do!" he hissed. "But I have loyalties here. I belong here." 

"You keep saying that, but before you belonged here, you belonged with Voltron! And I need you, Keith!" Lance's eyes widened as he realized his mistake, and he quickly backtracked. "We need you." 

Keith sighed, relaxing his stance a bit. "I'll do what I can, Lance, but what do we have to work with here? 'Shiro's acting weird?'" 

"I thought you said you believed me." 

"I do," Keith hastened. "It's just... I hope I can help, that's all."

Lance was surprised at the vulnerability in Keith's statement. His voice was low, and his shoulders slumped. "Like you said," Lance muttered, "I wouldn't have come unless it was important, and I know nobody's going to be more helpful here than you." 

Keith glanced up, giving him a small smile. "You're not bad at that, you know?" 

Lance blinked. "What?" 

"Reassuring people, making them feel..." he shrugged, looking for the right word, "valued." 

Lance's cheeks were hot. "I just don't like to see people I care about being down on themselves."  _Dammit._ He'd done it again-- revealed his hand too early. Keith didn't want to hear that. Lance was going to scare him away for good if he wasn't careful. 

Instead of making fun of him or retreating, however, Keith just kept smiling. "Well, thanks. I don't know if I ever told you how much what you said really meant to me, back when I had to pilot black lion. You could've rubbed it in my face after that disaster hunting Lotor, but you didn't. You stood by me, even though I know you wanted to pilot the black lion, and even though..." he rubbed at the back of his neck, glancing at the floor before meeting Lance's eyes. "You don't like me that much." 

Lance thought he'd heard wrong, at first. "Wait-- what did you just say?" 

Now it was Keith's turn to blush. "Well, you and I have always sort of butted heads, and I thought..." he shook his head, confused, "You were the one who said we were rivals!" 

"Yeah, but in like, a fun way!" Lance protested. "I don't _actually_ hate you! You're just so good at everything that it gets annoying. Holy quiznak, Keith, did you really think I felt that way this whole time?" 

"Well, I hoped not! You can be really annoying, too, but I always thought we fit pretty well together." When he saw Lance's face, he scoffed and said, "I don't know! You know what, never mind, if you're going to be so immature." 

"What? Immature? What did I do now?"

"Looking at me like that. All... all lovey and stuff. Making fun of me." 

"No, I wasn't making fun," Lance said, and then they both stared. 

Keith's throat worked, and Lance stood completely still, kind of wanting to die, and kind of wanting see what would happen next. 

"So," Keith began, "what are you saying?" 

Lance changed his mind. All of him wanted to die now. "Are you really going to make me say it?" he chuckled, wrapping his arms around himself. 

"Yeah," Keith said quietly. 

Lance sighed. "The truth is... I miss you. A lot. Back when you were on the team, it was like I saw you every day, you know? I got used to you. It was fun to push your buttons, but it wasn't until you were gone that I realized that it was more than that. We're never fully whole without you. I'm not..." he sighed again, preparing himself for rejection. "I'm not the same without you." 

Keith swallowed. "You're serious?" 

Lance nodded. "I mean it." He wasn't aware of anything, then, except Keith as he stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Lance's skin tingled, his breath caught in his throat. 

Keith reached out a hand, but then pulled it back right before touching Lance's chest. "This isn't a joke?" he asked again, nervously. "You're not just messing with me?" 

Lance's chest sunk at Keith's uncertainty-- the expectation of disappointment. Before he could think too much about it, he grabbed the back of Keith's neck and pulled him in, kissing him for as long as he dared. Keith was frozen underneath Lance's mouth for a moment; then, he brought his hand up to cradle Lance's cheek, moving into the kiss. Soon, Lance was getting dizzy, but he was still hungry for more when Keith pulled away. His bare chest heaved with labored breaths, and his lips were red and parted-- unbelievably kissable. 

"Alright, I'm convinced," Keith said with a grin. 

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Wait a second. Am I your first kiss?" 

Keith groaned, dropping his hand back to his side. "And... there he is." 

"No, seriously! Not too bad, right?" 

Keith pulled on his shirt. "You're ruining it."

"I'm just saying, you could've done way worse for a first kiss." 

"Bye, Lance," Keith said as he pulled open the door. 

"Right behind you, babe," Lance winked, trotting after him. 

"Oh god, what have I done?" Keith mumbled as the door closed behind them.


End file.
